


Manhunt

by Decembery



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternative Universe - FBI, Angst, Crimes & Criminals, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police, Tags May Change, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:01:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27841915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decembery/pseuds/Decembery
Summary: “Dream” usually has a positive connotation and denotation… but the Federal Bureau of Investigation inexplicably trembles whenever there’s any mention of that word.Special agent GeorgeNotFound comes onto the hot scene and public spotlight of what seems to be the serial killer case of the decade. A serial killer that killed other serial killers.Dream was a self pronounced vigilante with a large public following condoning his behavior, but to George, he was just another sick criminal who killed for their own twisted pleasures and justified themselves.Solving the cases was the easy part. The hard part was solving them before Dream solved it and made the serial killers his next target.Along the way, George met Clay, a soft spoken true crime author that piqued his interest. Clay was an enigma that George wanted to—no had to—decipher. George knew whatever ambiguity between them was inching into dangerous unchartered territory, but like a moth drawn to a flame, George was drawn to Clay and he couldn’t help but get closer, even if it meant his downfall.*NOT FULL SUMMARY* (Couldn’t fit it here, more detailed summary inside!)
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Maia | mxmtoon, GeorgeNotFound & Niki | Nihachu, GeorgeNotFound & Toby Smith | Tubbo, GeorgeNotFound & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Wilbur Soot, GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 81
Kudos: 406





	1. Prologue

“Dream” usually has a positive connotation  _ and  _ denotation… but the Federal Bureau of Investigation inexplicably trembles whenever there’s any mention of that word.

Special agent GeorgeNotFound comes onto the hot scene and public spotlight of what seems to be the serial killer case of the decade. George transferred from England to Florida after being assigned to a high profile case of a serial killer who killed other serial killers in the way they killed their victims.

Dream was a self pronounced vigilante with a large public following condoning his behavior, but to George, he was just another sick criminal who killed for their own twisted pleasures and justified themselves. They were all the same. George thought criminals still deserved a fair trial in court despite their atrocious acts; he absolutely despised Dream’s tacky way of imitating and executing the law. 

Solving the cases was the  _ easy _ part. The hard part was solving them  _ before _ Dream solved it and made the serial killers his next target.

Dream was solving these cases and escaping his grasp just  _ barely,  _ every single damn time. Arriving late to a crime scene of a case George just solved, if he’d just been faster by minutes—no,  _ seconds _ even, was devastating. 

There had to be a flaw— a  _ fatal _ flaw, an Achilles heel that George was going to find no matter the cost and once he did, he was going to make sure not even a heel was left whole of Dream.

Along the way, George met Clay, a soft spoken true crime author that piqued his interest. Clay was an enigma that George wanted to—no  _ had to— _ decipher. George knew whatever ambiguity between them was inching into dangerous unchartered territory, but like a moth drawn to a flame, George was drawn to Clay and he couldn’t help but get closer, even if it meant his downfall.

AU where Dream isn’t a famous Minecraft YouTuber but a famous serial killer being man hunted, but somehow still ends up being the hunter.

P.S Dream still has simps even as a serial killer


	2. Coffee & Colorblindness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is dedicated to Dream. DreamWasTaken. Clay. 11/21/2020 Hbomb’s stream: Dream expressed his opinions on fanfics, specifically shipping in fanfics which he defended writers against haters calling us toxic stans. He calls fanfics another form of art and states that there are no issues because it simply makes us happy. He’s said before that he doesn’t mind and even reads fanfics sometimes but always actively expressing his consent and even supporting it made me love and respect the faceless green block man so much more because I’ve never seen a creator do that. I feel extremely appreciated, loved, and acknowledged by Dream. He’s so genuine, inclusive, and kind, his existence is my motivation and inspiration for many things and writing is only one of them.

“FBI agent GeorgeNotFound from the Criminal Investigation Division. Transferring from headquarters in England. Nice to meet you.”

His tone was well practiced. He held himself with the utmost confidence, practically radiating it. The brown haired boy looked incredibly young, but the particular glint in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. The sharp gaze of an experienced agent.

“Woah, he said nice to meet you but I only felt chills.” The blonde boy shuddered for effect. 

“Tommy, don’t you have tea to make?” 

“Wilbur, I’ve been interning for three weeks and all I ever do is get your goddamn tea. I hope you overdose on caffeine.” 

“Hey, you also get to deliver presents! Get this to Tubbo and tell him to hand it over to Deputy chief Eret please.” Wilbur slid Tommy a file.

George watched the exchange wordlessly. Wilbur turned to him after Tommy stomped off. Wilbur eyed him up and down before grabbing the papers George held out.

“Look what we have here,” Wilbur skimmed the papers with an eyebrow raised. “Welcome dear Private investigator, would you like a tour?”

“I can manage.”

“That’s the spirit, I bet you’ll manage fine. I’m a bit caught up on something right now so Captain Niki can show you the case files.” 

Niki was the most welcoming by far. She took George on a mini tour and was efficient in sorting out the files he needed. George sincerely thanked her before carrying the stacks of files outside. He strode to a flashy looking car, looking a bit out of place. 

“That was quick, are those presents?” Quackity opened the door from the inside for George and helped take two boxes.

George didn’t reply as he settled the rest of the boxes in the backseat. When he turned around, Quackity was excitedly opening a file. Before George could reprimand him, a gruesome photo fell out.

Quackity squinted at the photo and flinched when he made out what it was. He quickly stuffed the photo back into the file and threw it back into the box.

George rolled his eyes taking the boxes back, “These are confidential.”

“I really didn’t want to see that before breakfast.” Quackity paled and clutched his stomach.

George quietly sat in the passenger seat and snapped his seatbelt in. He’d just arrive in Florida a few hours ago and it was breakfast time but he hadn’t adjusted to the time zone yet and Quackity wasn’t up for food anymore so they drove back to Quackity’s apartment.

“God, you’re going to look through all of these? How do you sleep at night?” Quackity complained from the parking lot to the elevator and in the apartment as he helped carry the boxes.

George wanted to say he didn’t really sleep much, only when he was exhausted and couldn’t function would he crash therefore he wasn’t bothered too much by the crime scenes and description. George had read murder cases as bedtime stories. There was a certain level of unaffectedness you achieve when you’ve experienced everything.

He didn’t explain this to Quackity, opting for a shrug. 

“Thank god I’m not a criminal justice lawyer. I don’t even think I could handle that.” Quackity muttered to himself, shoving the boxes as far away as he could when he set them down in George’s room. “The worse I get is an angry wife.” 

George chuckled. He looked around the apartment. It was going to be his home for the next few months, maybe even years. Quackity moved to Florida for Law school a month ago and George was assigned to this case around the same time so the plans worked themselves out. Quackity had a busy schedule as a college student but he made time to pick George up from the airport and drive him around. Now, he had to go back to class and so he headed out after settling George in. 

George was left alone to sort his luggage and then he spread the cases out chronologically on his desk and board. His head was faintly throbbing, a sign of his fatigue that he’d been ignoring since landing. He decided to check out the coffee shop around the corner Quackity mentioned since he wasn’t used to the kitchen and appliances here yet, it would only cause further headache.

Quackity was concerned when George texted him he was going out. George was touched for a bit but those feelings disappeared when Quackity explained he was worried about George’s colorblindness. 

George just wasn’t able to drive. It wasn’t as if he was crippled. He didn’t bother to reply as he made his way down and onto the streets. He easily found the coffee shop and sent Quackity a picture to show him he was capable. When Quackity asked him what color the cup was George contemplated on blocking him.

George ordered a venti iced American with four extra shots. He planned to start as soon as possible. Time wasn’t on his side and neither was the public. He had saved some articles on his phone to read over. 

As he was sipping his coffee, he scanned the area out of habit after a short break from reading. He had glazed over everyone else when he came across a figure directly in front of him.

The dirty blonde haired boy was looking down as he wrote. His posture was upright and his movements were quite elegant. George stared a bit mesmerized. The aura surrounding the boy was magnetic. 

George unintentionally stared until the boy looked up. The boy probably felt his gaze but he didn’t mind, contrarily, he offered George a soft smile.

George’s heart skipped a beat. It was just a subtle curve in his lips but George beamed back. The boy shyly lowered his head and his smile stayed as he resumed writing.

George absentmindedly sipped his drink and the bitterness pulled him back to reality. 

_Cases. Right._

He picked up his drink, deciding to go back to the apartment. There were too many distractions to focus here.

It took all of George’s self restraint to just walk past the boy but the boy didn’t even give him a second glance, seemingly immersed in his journal. 

George was a little disappointed but something else took his attention away before he could pinpoint his emotions.

His phone vibrated. Caller was unknown. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited :)


	3. I found a woman, bad news, she’s American

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW deaths  
> Unedited :)

George paused. He’d just arrived so he hadn’t yet had time to change his number. This was his personal phone and very few people had it. George wracked his brain for a bit before deciding to impulsively answer. He was going to get a new number anyways.

“Hey!” A familiar voice crackled through.

“Sir?” 

“It’s Wilbur,” There was some shuffling in the background. “Where are you right now?”

George didn’t know the address from memory yet so he looked around. He was blocking the doorway so he side stepped to a corner which coincidentally brought him closer to the blonde boy. 

George searched his location and reported it to Wilbur whilst side eyeing the boy that was a step away from him. He was just scanning his surroundings to secure the perimeter. Yes that’s it. Particularly his right side perimeter that mainly consisted of a wall and a pretty boy. Safety first.

“Perfect,” Wilbur sounded distracted and didn’t seem surprised at George’s location. “There’s a nightclub down the street on your left, dispatch officers are there but this may be related to your cases so if you wouldn’t mind checking it out firsthand that would be great.”

“Yes, sir.” George had turned serious in the blink of an eye. Like a switch. But switches needed power, and that power wasn’t limitless.

George had endured much worse, his energy reservoirs were low but even if they went into the negatives George could still function better than an average healthy person. Someday, it would burn out and backfire, he knew fully well the consequences of abusing his body like this, but today was not the day. 

“By the way, are you good with children?”

“I—huh?” George was ready for the unexpected but that was really unexpected. “Yes?” He hasn’t had much contact with children but he was sure it wasn’t hard if it was related to work...

“Lovely! 270 degree 9 o’clock to your left. Small child. In need of babysitting. Think of it as like uh—take your kid to work day. Have fun!”

George’s eyebrows furrowed after Wilbur hung up on him. He followed the directions and noticed a familiar blonde boy outside the window. It really wasn’t hard to notice as the boy was making an idiotic expression and waving his hands wildly. 

George sighed and made his way out to stop Tommy from making more of a scene. People were already starting to stare and public attention wasn’t something he needed any more of right now. 

“Gogy!” 

“What?” George had just pushed open the door when Tommy rushed up to him excitedly.

“Oh boy, this is my first real outing as an intern! You’re one lucky fellow. Let me tell you, I’m way better than Tubbo so be glad you got me instead of him. Anyways, I’ll take the lead since you’re new here—hey wait I said I’ll take the lead, where are you going? I’m taller than you so you really want to play the fast walking game…”

The rest of Tommy’s sentence was muffled when he walked straight into George’s back.

“Hey man, why are you—oh my god!”

George stopped to stare an inconspicuous chess piece on the ground. It was a white pawn. He vaguely remembered something from the files he skimmed but he lost his thoughts after Tommy’s screech. George tensed, looking up.

“What?” He looked around the club entrance.

“It’s a woman!” Tommy pointed at a police officer. George furrowed his eyebrows and Tommy elaborated. “Not just any woman, an American woman.”

George closed his eyes and took deep breaths. “Tommy, we are in America.” He deadpanned.

“Hiya, Wilbur’s people?” The woman asked after smiling awkwardly. 

“Oh man, she knows Wilbur too.” Tommy muttered.

“What’s the situation?” George tried his best to ignore Tommy’s chatter while flashing the woman his badge

“The districts recently got reorganized so this area is under Chief Maia, but it’s not everyday we have a special detective so we’re making an exception.” The woman opened the door behind the yellow caution tape and motioned them in.

Tommy walked in first. George hesitated and then turned around. He walked a couple of steps back and snatched the chess piece on the ground and stuffed it in his pocket. When he went inside, Tommy and the woman were already acquainted. 

The woman named Andrea walked them through the crime scene and gave the report she came up with. George looked over the papers and contemplated.

The body was discovered this morning when the opener came in. It was probably done last night and no one noticed until morning. Traces of drugs were on and around the body but they had to do further testing to find out the exact ones. It seemed like a regular addict that overdose but there was a serial case of people at clubs dying mysteriously like this all over the district in the last few months to be a coincidence. There was an ongoing drug case and a serial murder case for this situation.

George recorded the information and also got the police officers contact number for later lab evidence.

“Why did she give you her number but not me?” Tommy complained after they left.

George shrugged absentmindedly. The ice in his coffee had melted and became watery. George tossed it as they walked past a trash can.

“I’m going back to my apartment, are you reporting back to Wilbur?” 

“No, I am a free man. I report to no one.”

“Uh huh,” George had already dialed Wilbur’s number.

In the end, Tommy was dragged away and George’s headache finally throbbed a bit less.

When he got back to the apartment, he laid the chest piece out on his desk and flipped through his files. 

He remembered one of the cases mentioned in a Chess piece but as he sifted through the file notes he underlined six total. 

_Was it a coincidence?_

Two white pieces, three black pieces, George had a white piece.

He read through each case trying to find relations. Three of them were at a club if he included his white pawn due to overdose. The other three were police officers who had been on the cases. 

George’s frowned. Police officer killings weren’t taken lightly and three back to back on the same case at that. Who the hell was in charge of this case?

Lieutenant Jschlatt was the name on file. Not only did he not investigate the deaths but he didn’t assign the case to anyone else after the three deaths. _Why?_

Three white pawns, civilians. Three black pawns, police officers. Another coincidence? Maybe Jschlatt had noticed something and held off. George decided to investigate Lieutenant Jschlatt later.

His eyes were growing heavy but even then, he opened up an online custom chess match to test things out. Maybe the algebraic notions of the pieces were a clue. George’s played around for a bit but didn’t seem to get anything. Even after reviewing the files he couldn’t find any more puzzle pieces to connect.

He finally crashed around noon, the computer still open to the chess game. 

George slept until the next day. Quackity had moved him from the desk to the bed. George was up early so he made them breakfast and started working on his files again. He was at a dead end in the chess game so he started analyzing the other cases and sorting them into piles. He didn’t leave the house for three days as he was immersed in all the cases.

He was writing up his statements for the chess club case when Quackity came home with food. It was like a late lunch early dinner. 

“I don’t understand how a restaurant can be homophobic.” George says after Quackity tells him about Chick Fil A.

“Well they are. Since you don’t have any in England this is a one time thing. We support the gays in this house.” Quackity says biting into a burger messily. 

George hummed and moved his nuggets away inconspicuously from Quackity’s range of projectile spit.

They decided to go shopping afterwards and stock up on food because they both would be busy, finals and exams were coming up for Quackity too. Their shopping consisted of mostly instant foods and snacks. George had only cooked a handful of times and Quackity burnt instant foods a few times so the choice was obvious.

After shopping and storing the food, Quackity made them both a sandwich and convinced George to play a few games with him. 

They were in the middle of CS GO when George realized something after looking the the scores.

“1-1-8-3-11-1” George muttered. 

“What?” Quackity was shot after George paused.

“The dates,” George gasped. 

He threw his headset aside and flipped open all the files. Quackity stared at the crazed look in his eyes and stayed silent.

“The interval between each murder,” George muttered frantically drawing a chart. 

Quackity observed the chart.

  1. White pawn 1st
  2. Black pawn 1 day later 
  3. Black pawn 8 days later
  4. White knight 3 days later 
  5. Black pawn 11 days later
  6. White pawn 1 day later



“The first white pawn was the first to be eaten, the second black pawn was eaten after 1 move. The black pawn was captured 8 moves later, then the white horse after 3 moves. The black pawn was eaten in 11 moves, succeeded by the last white pawn in 1 move.” George said hysterically.

He opened up a programming system and put the information in. The numbers have to mean something. _They have to._

As the information was loading his phone rang. 

“Put it on speakerphone,” George ordered.

“Hey, we got the test results back and it’s the same drugs so we have reason to believe these cases are connected throughout the district. Furthermore, this drug seems like a mix of many chemical components. It may be one lab distributing this new product as an experiment because testing says it’s all been from the same batch.”

George’s mind was in overdrive. The information finally processed and he didn’t reply as he scanned the screen.

“The Deep Blue chess match of May 11th, 1997 between a human and a computer.” George read aloud.

“Huh?” Andrea only paused for a moment. “Do you play chess too? Why that match all of a sudden?” She asked. 

“Do you know anything about it?” George said clicking through the match. “Anything about the 7th move?” There were three more pieces before the match ended, three more victims. George couldn’t sit still. 

Andrea was silent. Probably confused. George figured it out himself after reading the details.

“The next piece that will be captured is a white knight, four moves after the previous white pawn. Counting the time, the seventh victim— it’s today!” George ended the call and started running. “Quackity, to the police Bureau now!” 

They had no time to lose. It was today and they don’t know when. Quackity ran over the speed limit with George’s consent. It was life or death right now.

George was clutching the chest piece hard. If only he had worked it out earlier, they would’ve had time to prepare. A comrade dying would be his fault. Blood on his hands. He couldn't let that happen.

The rotating shift would be around now, 10pm. George didn’t know the staff or the area well. He should’ve taken the offer for a tour. He was so mad at himself he punched the car door.

“Hey, hey, let’s calm down. I’m the one going 150 here.” 

George took deep breaths and tried not to assume the worst.

They arrived and George rushed into the building. He scanned the area and the person at the front desk. Nothing was amiss. He continued to Wilbur’s office.

He heard two people vaguely talking inside and decided to barge in.

“...George?” Niki looked at him from top to bottom worriedly.

“We need to secure the area, now.” George said. “I’ll explain later but we need to check on everyone in this building.”

Wilbur didn’t question it as he pressed a button to signal for lock down in the building.

George had Quackity stay in his car a few blocks down to observe from afar in case anything gets out of hand so he hoped things were contained here.

George turned around to start searching the area when Wilbur called out, “Wait,”

Instantly, George’s felt a chill run down his spine. Wilbur’s tone gave away that something was wrong. 

“Deputy Chief Eret and Lieutenant Jschlatt aren’t responding.”

George took off running. He vaguely heard them calling out it was dangerous but he didn't care.He rushed up to the first room which was Eret’s and positioned his gun. “Deputy?” George called out. 

Eret didn’t respond and George didn’t wait to knock or call again, he pulled the door. 

“Oh my gosh,” Niki and Wilbur arrived right as George opened it.

The horrific scene was laid in front of the three people. 

Eret was hunched over on his desk, blood splattered over the papers. 

George looked around and didn’t see a chess piece. 

George was the less shocked out of the three of them and continued to Jschlatt’s office. He didn’t even bother to call out before opening the door. 

Inside was a similar scene but a pristine chess piece sat inconspicuously on the desk.

George was used to being the king of the board. The one checkmating others. The white knight seemed to be mocking him in that moment. He was the one losing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Eret and Jschlatt, it had to be :( But hey, longer chapter, double the word count of the first one. I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Checkmate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited :)

“What the hell is going on here?” Wilbur pulled George out of the room and slammed the door shut.

“No… that doesn’t make any sense.” George denied and shook Wilbur’s hand off and went back into Eret’s room.

He didn’t know what he was looking for but he just _knew_ there was something he was missing. George was in a rush earlier and didn’t check the second room connected to Eret’s office. He cautiously entered and at first glance, it seemed like an ordinary break room but George shook at the sight of the chessboard in the corner of the room. 

It might be a coincidence except for the fact that the chess pieces on the board were all black.

George stood there listlessly as the puzzle pieces grinded against each other in his mind. Other officers arrived on the scene and George was taken to the questioning room. He had Quackity bring out the files he’d been working for the past few days and slid it over to Wilbur silently. 

Wilbur flipped through with a range of emotion but George couldn’t care less. He hung his head low and hid his face in his hands. 

“Look, George, your progress has exceeded my expectations. You’ve only been here for four days. No one could’ve predicted this. We can concentrate our forces on these leads you’ve created for us. Take it as a small loss in the bigger picture.”

Wilburs words didn’t comfort George.

George slowly looked up and examined Wilbur. This man wasn’t normal. Two of his subordinates were just murdered yet here he was calmly saying it didn’t matter. George lowered his scrutinizing gaze, keeping his thoughts to himself.

Wilbur was right on one thing. Beating himself over something that already happened wasn’t productive. He should be working harder now. Not only to redeem himself, but to get justice. 

“I don’t understand one thing though,” George pointed to the file. “I originally suspected Jschlatt because of the death of officers on his watch, but now—Eret had something to do with it didn’t he?”

Wilbur sighed. “Eret was trusted as Deputy chief while Lieutenant Jschlatt often made mistakes and bad calls which resulted in him getting demoted again and again. In a way, it is like a game of chess.” Wilbur went to find a chess board and moved the pieces sporadically to demonstrate. He ended up with a white knight being surrounded by black pieces.

“Jschlatt didn’t have as much power as Eret you see. Eret was probably the person we’d least expect to be a traitor and they both knew that. Jschlatt couldn’t just accuse him. The one time Jschlatt was right.” Wilbur sighed again after knocking the white knight down with another piece. 

George grasped the gist of it. “Eret was behind these drug distributions and Jschlatt was onto him but…” Well, they knew the rest.

Having an insider mole probably made the police bureau accessible. A team was already analyzing the footage but it was conveniently destroyed as well as the surrounding security cameras in the neighborhood. Eret had a lot of power. Turns out, he had been tempted to walk the wrong path while on an undercover mission and had been a traitor for who knows how long. They were going to have to do a thorough clean of the bureau to erase any traces that Eret might have left behind.

“Who killed Eret?” George had wracked his brain but ended up asking this question. His special agent, private investigator, detective pride was devastatingly crushed right now.

Wilbur pulled a black pawn from his pocket and put it on the table between them. “This was discovered in Eret’s hands when his body was taken out.”

George blinked. This only made him even more confused. Why was Eret killed and the one with the black chess piece? He remembered now that Jschlatt had a white knight. Now that the adrenaline died down, he was rational again. George felt so dumb.

“Eret was the one who orchestrated these killings. Jschlatt was a victim. Who else figured this out and was ballsy enough to switch the pieces? Not only that, they gave Eret the jester piece and the paramedics determined it was forced into his hands.” 

Wilbur left only the queens on the chess board.

George gaped. “You’re saying Dream not only figured this out, but he was also here at the time Jschlatt was murdered, killed Eret and then switched the pieces? That’s crazy. That’s mere minutes. that— _that lunatic._ ” 

“I can’t think of any other serial killer killer in the area at the moment.” Wilbur handed George the black queen. “Dream’s a one man show.” Wilbur placed all the black chess pieces on the board against a single white queen. “You are not. Use everything. Get the checkmate next time.”

George clutched the black queen piece hard as he was walking out. There was yellow caution tape everywhere now and everyone had already been evacuated so George wasn’t expecting to bump into someone after rounding a corner.

“Sorry,” George muttered, kneeling down to pick up the queen piece he just dropped.

“It’s my fault.” 

George’s hand paused at the voice. 

“Yours?” The person beat George in picking up the queen.

George looked up momentarily stunned. It was the pretty boy from the coffee shop. His eyes were dark at first glance but with their proximity, George noticed it was actually blue and brown. He could even count the speckles. 

He realized he was staring for way too long and cleared his throat. “Yes, thank you.” George didn’t seem to register his surroundings until the boy ducked under some caution tape. “Wait, excuse me, who are you?”

Even though everything was already cleared up, they hadn’t had time to tighten security yet. The boy was dressed in normal civilian clothes and carried a satchel. He was definitely out of place. 

“Oh,” the boy smiled. “I’m a journalist of sorts. Freelance work mostly. I’m also an author, studying and collecting real information helps me write.” He explained opening his satchel to reveal books and pens.

“Clay!” Wilbur appeared around the corner and greeted the boy. “Oh George, you haven’t left yet? This is Clay, he comes in occasionally to interview a few of us. Eret usually did but… well anyway, would you be willing to get interviewed by him? Just anytime you’re free.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m free right now.” It was probably best he processed the information and an interview was perfect for that, strictly professional. He totally didn’t agree because he was interested in Clay, though that was a factor. A small factor. 

“I tried to call you just now, did you change your number?” Wilbur said unlocking his phone.

“I got an American number. Can you update that on my files for me.” George told Wilbur his phone number. 

“Do you mind if I add that too? Because we’ll be working together in the future.” Clay asked.

“No of course not.” George answers a little too eagerly. 

“Okay, I’ll leave you guys to it.” Wilbur left them alone and Clay went under the yellow tape again.

“Do you usually interview Eret here?” George asked.

“Yes, but I can do whatever is most convenient for you.”

“Is my apartment okay?” George suggested.

Clay nodded and they walked outside. 

Quackity was waiting for George by the car anxiously and he stopped pacing back and forth when he saw the two figures. George explained the situation and they drove home with Clay following behind them. 

“That’s a really nice car, could you ask him if I can take pictures with it later?” 

George rolled his eyes. He rested his head against the window looking in the rear view mirror.

Clay huh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a busy Wednesday this week, sorry for the late update!


	5. Heroes and Villains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited

After taking pictures with Clay’s car, Quackity promptly crashed from all the stress and adrenaline. He was a normal civilian after all.

George felt the island table was infinitely bigger right now. The space suddenly seemed unfit for only two people. 

“We haven’t gotten all the details yet so I don’t think I’ll be of any use.” George admitted, breaking the silence while setting two cups of tea on the counter. 

“I doubt that.” Clay’s lips curled up a bit and he clicked his pen a few times before flipping open his journal to a blank page. “If you don’t mind, could you tell me a bit about yourself first?”

George’s mind went blank. He automatically recited his usual introduction robotically: “FBI agent Georgenotfound from the criminal investigation division.” As an afterthought he also added: “from New England.”

Clay laughed. “I meant you as a person.” he elaborated. “Everyone has different experiences that affect how they react and perceive things. It’s also what differentiates characters in books. Personality in simple terms. As a writer, I need to know what type of person you are before forming my stories.”

George nodded. It made sense. “What did you learn about Eret?”

Clay’s clicking paused. His head was originally lowered but George could tell the subtle shift in the air without even looking up.

“Shouldn’t I be asking the questions?” Clay smiled, but it wasn’t really a smile. 

“I was just wondering because I didn’t know him very well and now it’s a bit late. You should’ve been close to him after interviewing him multiple times right?” George’s gears were shifting again. The case was closing but getting more information was never a bad thing. He pressed on even with the uncomfortable ambience.

Clay seemed to be in thought for a moment before replying simply, “Eret did what he thought was right. Depending on who’s telling the story, he could be the villain or the protagonist.” 

George’s didn’t quite understand but Clay wasn’t going to say anymore.

George thought hard about himself but in the end didn’t come up with anything. He gave Clay basics like his birthdate, his education, and his accomplishments to which Clay recorded diligently but George could see it wasn’t what Clay was searching for.

“I guess I’d just be a boring side character.” George said a bit depressed now. He really wasn’t interesting.

“You’d definitely be the hero. In any story.” Clay said naturally without room for argument.

George again didn’t understand but he nodded anyways. He seemed to be doing that a lot with Clay. He’d probably go along with anything Clay said. 

“Heroes aren’t boring per say, but they all have the same values which makes things expected and easy to read.” 

Clay turned his journal upside down for George to see. It was a questionnaire of sorts. Clay handed George the pen.

George accepted it hesitantly. He slowly looked over the question. Clay seemed like he wanted him to answer them so he did. The questions were like this or that. George thought the answer was obvious so he finished it quickly.

Clay looked over his answers and smiled. “Heroes are expected and easy to read.” He repeated.

“Some may have different back stories and that does add complexity to the characters but in the end, the hero archetype doesn’t provide any room for much creativity. Villains on the other hand, always have a complex back story and their motives are different every time. Villains can be whatever the writer wants.”

“As a priority you’d put the law above all else,” Clay pointed to one of the questions. “Like a hero puts his duty before anything else. If you were to love a hero and put them as your number one priority, you’d still only be their second. Villians on the other hand, could burn down cities—nations—for someone they love. They’re allowed to go to extremes.”

”hypothetically, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world while a villain would sacrifice the world to save you.”

“I prefer the Villain archetype because they’re allowed to be human. Humans are naturally selfish creatures. Heroes always have to put the greater good as their first priority while Villains aren’t limited by anything and express their wants freely. This storyline makes for a more epic romance than the usual hero stories.”

“But you aren’t a character so my preference doesn’t apply.” Clay finished cheekily.

“I guess I’d understand why you’d prefer writing villains in stories over heroes.” George thought that was a roundabout way to make him feel better about being such a boring person but he liked listening to Clay talk regardless. 

“That’s also why girls prefer bad boys like me,” Quackity appeared in front of George’s face out of nowhere making him jump back.

“Quackity we are busy.” George said, a little flustered.

“I should be wrapping up now. I’ve taken up a lot of your time already.” Clay said, starting to pack up politely.

George wanted to say Clay could take as much of his time as he wanted but he remembered his job. He could only watch as Clay stood up ready to leave.

“What type of girls do you like, Clay? I think you’d definitely like sexy bad girls. Something about you just screams bad boy to me.”

George gave Quackity an unimpressed look. Dream was dressed very properly and he looked very professional. What exactly screamed bad boy here?

“I don’t actually. Quite the opposite. I prefer,” Clay made eye contact with George, “little goody two shoes.”

Quackity blinked confused. Clay left with a simple goodbye before either of them could say anything else.

Quackity scratched his head. “I got that wrong but he’s definitely a bad boy.” 

George pushed Quackity out of the way while rolling his eyes and shut his door saying he was busy.

He sat in his chair and spun listlessly while staring at the ceiling. Very busy indeed. 

His thoughts were full of their conversation just now. He felt like Clay said things that also could be taken a different way but maybe he was reading too much into it.

After the distraction, the heavy weight of reality set back in. He didn’t feel like a hero. Not after today.

He set the Queen chess piece in front of him.

Back to work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clays question sheet:  
> Do you believe in DNF? Yes or Yes?  
> *George sweating while circling or*
> 
> Sorry for no update last week! I’ve been busy despite being on winter break, I really did want to update weekly but it’s probably going to be more like spontaneous updates now :(
> 
> I don’t have any chapters stockpiled so I’ve only been writing them on the fly with a slightly rough idea of the plot each update... like I do with a lot (all) of my schoolwork haha 
> 
> It’s like a trust the process kinda thing. Don’t worry, I do well in school despite the bare minimum effort. Though, dropping out and becoming a Minecraft YouTuber do be tempting rn
> 
> Anyway, I love reading the comments and it really motivates me because it makes me feel like my words are actually being heard or read(?)—so comment!! It’s free <3


	6. Hi Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited

George’s ringtone went off at 4am. Only a few people have his number right now. His mother, Quackity, Wilbur, and Clay. He couldn’t ignore a call from anyone. Groaning, he felt around for his phone.

“Hello?” His voice was groggy and his eyes still half shut.

“Eret may be alive.” 

George’s eyes blinked wide open.

“Isn’t that good?” George glanced at his bright screen to confirm it was Wilbur.

“Yes and no. Eret was in critical condition but now he’s missing from his hospital ward. No one was guarding the room, it was my fault.” Wilbur sighed.

“I wouldn’t have thought to either,” George admitted. “Is there anything on the security feed?”

“Unfortunately a convenient black out occurred around the same time. We think he still has his criminal connections so we’re surveillancing his usual places but he hasn’t appeared yet. I read you’re proficient in coding in your files so do you think you could lend our cyber team a hand?” 

“I see, I can come in tomorrow—or er today to see if I can trace any leads. Alright, anything else?”

“Jschlatt wasn’t murdered. His cause of death was actually a heart attack. Someone shot him after he died. We don’t know the motive but we think it was to throw us off any leads.” 

George went silent. He was finally understanding the situation and making a plan but now everything was thrown out the window again. Not to mention, Wilbur was throwing bomb after bomb at him when the sun hadn’t even peeked the horizon yet. He felt a little dizzy just trying to wrap his head around the information. 

“...Okay.” He managed to squeeze out. 

“I know what we’re asking of you isn’t easy.” Wilbur started, “but you came all the way from England because we need you.”

“I know,” George’s voice hardened. “I know.” He repeated more to himself. 

The next morning, Quackity took them to a breakfast bagel place before dropping George off at the Bureau.

When George walked in, it was surprisingly lively.

“George! My friend!” Tommy excitedly waved him over. 

“Hello.” George greeted everyone politely.

“This him?” A blonde haired boy asked.

Wilbur replied. “Yes, GeorgeNotFound in the flesh.” 

George knew his name was well known in the industry but he didn’t think it traveled all the way to the states. He subconsciously puffed his chest out and straightened proudly.

“He looks like someone I could probably curb stomp with minimal effort.” 

George was taken aback. He deflated a bit and his eyebrows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

“... This is SapNap. Violent crimes division transfer from Texas. You two are going to be working very closely so no one is curb stomping anyone.” Wilbur mediated.

“I’m just saying I _could_.” SapNap shrugged. “His skills must probably come from that big head huh because it’s definitely not his shortness.”

“What is wrong with you? Do you have something against me? I don’t even know you.” George started.

Wilbur put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down or hold him back. “George, could you take a look at the systems. SapNap, Tommy is going to show you around.” He ordered

When Tommy and SapNap left, George was still offended. “I didn’t get any orders for backup.” George muttered clicking through the files. He could hear Tommy saying Gogy this and Gogy that down the hall and that just irritated him further. 

“It was a call from my immediate superior after yesterday.” Wilbur leaned on the desk with his hands crossed. “Though, I do agree it’s better than you working on all these cases alone.”

George thought he was doing fine alone but this complaint wasn’t going to change anything so he didn’t reply. 

George searched the systems for about an hour before giving up. He knew it was messed with but he could find any traces to follow. It was seamless. 

He felt a chill after realizing whoever did this knew the system so well they not only bypassed it, but they also managed to corrupt it _and_ leave without revealing anything.

George was originally confident in his technical abilities but he seemed to have met his match.

Well if he couldn’t find anything on this end why not work backwards? He could hack as well. He started by running one screen as administrator and opened a second monitor.

George seemed to have found a weakness in the security system and managed to get in as an unauthorized party pretty easily but he was also detected. How did they do it undetected? Was there another way? He tried for several more hours. 

Everyone had a different key to the system and George was currently switching between Eret and Wilbur’s keys. They were the only one with admin access. If the corruption didn’t come from Eret or Wilbur it had to be a third party but George was always detected when he tried to hack into the system. 

In the end, he was left with a mild headache from the screen. 

“No wonder you haven’t made much progress. Is staring at the screen all you do?” An annoying voice came from behind him.

George’s lips thinned as he swiveled around. “I don’t know what the hell your problem is but you’re not helping me in any way right now.”

“Chill, Gogy I have a lead. Let’s go.” SapNap waved a paper in front of George’s face.

George snatched the papers and scanned it. “Where did you get this?”

“I have my ways.”

George rolled his eyes. It was the serial case of abductions at a University. SapNap had the enrollment papers for himself. He was probably going undercover as a student.

“You’re too high profile so you can pretend to be my dad or something at the campus tour today.”

“I’m twenty four.” 

“Ew! You’re that old?”

“And how old are you?”

“I’m a minor.”

“No, you’re not.” George said exasperatedly.

“Yes, I am daddy.”

“...” George left the room. SapNap was trailing behind him and blabbering about but George decided to block it out. He now knew SapNap would only say something useful one eighth of the time.

SapNap apparently had a friend from his high school football team that was currently attending the University so they got a ride from him. 

George was in the back seat as the two reminisced about their high school athlete days. George wasn’t that athletic. He played tennis at most so he just stayed silent. 

After arriving on campus, they went their separate ways and SapNap focused his attention on George again.

“I didn’t make a fake identity for you so you’re on your own buddy.” SapNap patted his back before entering the school office.

George just acted like he belonged there as he strolled around. He decided that he’d probably need a more connected identity among the students for this particular case but he was just taking today to feel out the area since it was such a short notice.

He had found a campus map board and was figuring out a path when his shoulder was tapped.

George’s eyes flashed in alarm. He was usually very vigilant about his surroundings. Even as he was surveying the map he simultaneously scanned the area around him as well and yet he didn’t notice this person behind him? Definitely not a normal person.

He spun around and took a step back at the same time.

“Ah, sorry did I surprise you?”

George blinked at Clay standing there with a backpack and textbooks. 

“No,” George lied.

George released his tension and stiffness. Subconsciously and consciously his guards were lowered as soon as he saw Clay.

“What are you doing here?” Clay asked curiously.

George didn’t know how to answer. His cases were confidential but Clay already knew his identity. 

“Accompanying a friend.” George replied after a beat. Technically it wasn’t a lie.

SapNap appeared a moment after so George pointed him out.

When Clay turned around to look, George gave Sapnap a warning look. 

_Don’t say anything weird._ He tried to convey. 

The message didn’t seem to be received as SapNap greeted George with: “Hi daddy.”

George mentally facepalmed.

Clay somehow kept a straight face through all of this. “Are you a new student?” Clay asked.

“Yeah,” Sapnap smirked at Clay. 

“It was nice meeting you here Clay but we really have to go now.” George grabbed Sapnap and started dragging him away before he could say anymore dumb things.

“You too,” Clay replied politely. 

George hurriedly pulled Sapnap along and didn’t look back, missing the subtle exchange between the two apparent strangers behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years! Surprise update as a gift mwah mwah <3
> 
> I wanted to reveal this a bit later but some of y’all were really sad Eret died so I brought him back from the dead earlier than planned just for you. Y’all really thought I killed him off hehe it was fun seeing your reactions
> 
> P.S There are no major character deaths planned as of now. Personally, I can’t read sad stories nor can I write them so don't worry! For now at least... There has to be some suspense after all haha.
> 
> I wish everyone good health and a better 2021!


	7. 10-33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited

George was worried Clay would think he and Sapnap had some kind of weird relationship after that encounter. He should’ve clarified but he didn’t even know where to start with Sapnaps behavior. 

“Why’d you say that in front of him, he’s gonna think I’m weird now.” George complained. He wasn’t expecting this Texan from the violent crimes department to have his level of deduction skills but he didn’t think it’d be this bad. “If you couldn’t take a hint, at least common sense and normal manners would’ve been good.” George sighed.

“Why do you care so much? Who is he to you?” Sapnap replied leisurely.

George paused. Who is Clay to him? And why _did_ he care so much?

“In any case, stop being weird.” George avoided answering Sapnap and himself. 

“I’m not being weird. This is how I am.” Sapnap said as a matter of fact. 

“That doesn't change the fact that you’re being weird.” George muttered.

Sapnap took a relaxed tour of the school. Nothing seemed to be amiss but they weren’t expecting anything in the first place. Sapnap was adamant about visiting the sports facilities saying it was important to check everything. George clearly remembered the victims were from the opposite department in the opposite direction but was still dragged along in the end.

Sapnap’s Apple Watch had been going off for a while and he excused himself once they got into the boys locker room. George looked around before sitting and opening the files he brought. It was in an inconspicuous corner. George didn’t know the timing so he hoped they wouldn’t be caught trespassing but unfortunately whoever was listening didn't grant his wish and a few minutes later, boys were trickling in. 

George could probably still pass for someone in university so he calmly walked to one of the stalls and shut the door. 

He angrily texted sapnap: where are you?

Sapnap infuriatingly didn’t reply while the stalls besides George were steadily being occupied. A few minutes later, sapnap sent his location. George was speechless looking at the distance between their two points. That idiot left him!

George was mid typing when his stall door was pushed open. He moved to hide behind the door. The only problem was, there wasn't really any space to hide in the cramped stall.

_Okay, I’ll just knock them out lightly for now_

George got ready to execute his plan but then his eyes fell on the dirty blonde hair and blue brown eyes and his hands stopped midair.

Clay blinked at him. And then calmly turned to lock the stall. He turned back and waited patiently for George to explain.

George’s hand slowly lowered in shame. He really didn’t know what to say.

“Are you going to shower?” Someone else 

knocked on the door, sounding impatient.

The locker room was full now and there were people waiting. It would look suspicious if they didn’t turn on the water.

“Stand there.” Clay whispered, adjusting the shower head to face the opposite of where he told George to move.

George obediently made himself small in the corner as Clay turned on the water and came over to his side.

The shower head was a little broken and water still sprayed their side. Clay used his back to shield the water from them, trapping George in the corner with barely any space between them.

Clay was a bit taller so George’s line of sight fell directly onto his lips. George averted his gaze not daring to look up or anywhere near Clay.

None of them spoke as they waited out the time until the locker room emptied. The water had long turned cold and George was stiff from maintaining that comprising portion. 

Usually, George’s mind would be constantly on alert, but in this situation, it was completely blank and defenseless. He didn’t want to admit it but subconsciously, he already trusted Clay.

After a while, Clay reached out and turned off the water before stepping back. George secretly exhaled deeply after holding his breath for so long.

“Thank you,” George started. 

Clay nodded, opening the stall and stepping first.

George followed silently. He saw the back of Clay’s shirt was drenched and felt annoyed at himself. He shouldn't have let Clay endure his mistakes. 

“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to.” Clay said considerately.

George’s mentality collapsed. How was Clay so good? He started to feel even more bad. 

“...Thank you.” George repeated. It was all he could say.

Clay looked at his watch, frowning. “I have to go.” 

“Of course, sorry for taking so much of your time. And—thank you again.”

Clay looked at him, smiling warmly. “Anytime.” He said, sounding sincere.

George felt like it wasn’t just polite nothings, Clay would do as he said. George averted his gaze and nodded. When Clay left, then he went back to angrily texting sapnap.

Sapnap oddly wasn’t replying and wasn’t even reading his texts anymore. George looked at his location faintly remembering seeing it on the map. It was the old gym that was no longer in use. 

George started walking in the direction while scanning the area. The path was less crowded now that the field in the distance was full of athletes. George took a turn and it became even more empty. 

When he turned another corner his gut told him something felt off. Very wrong. The silence was unnatural and George became sensitive to every movement.

Sapnap’s point didn’t move on the map but George was close enough so he called him to probe things. 

George didn’t hear a ringtone but instead a muffled cry. He sent Wilbur a 10-33 text and shoved his phone in his jacket before moving on site. He hasn’t send anything but something just told him he needed emergency backup.

The door to the gym was open and George snuck a peek inside. He wasn’t sure how to proceed so he wanted to collect as much information as he could before making a plan.

The gym was empty but George caught a glimpse of shoes in the storage room connected.

He didn’t know the background of the case enough. Blindly going in was very dangerous. He was unprepared _and_ unarmed. But he also couldn’t just sit around and wait.

His phone vibrated thrice. Backup was coming. 

_Still not fast enough…_

George was pacing around when a figure emerged in front of him. 

Were his senses just off today? He couldn’t tell when Clay approached him and now some random person too? He was on high alert and yet this person waltz straight up to him.

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. 

Well, George stared. The person had a green hoodie and a smiling mask that only showed piercing green eyes through small holes. Any other defining features were covered. George felt himself being assessed from top to bottom. He oddly didn’t feel any hostility, but then again, his senses were dull at the moment and he didn’t trust them much.

The other person finished doing a once over on him and moved into the gym confidently. They didn’t even glance back at George. 

Dumbfounded, he followed quietly.

_What the hell was going on? Was this backup?_

While they were approaching the storage room, a fight seemed to break out inside so they started rushing, not caring about being quiet anymore. 

They arrived to Sapnap and a boy struggling over a gun and another boy who was taped to a chair with his mouth wrapped. 

George might’ve been the dumb one here. Sapnap was actually armed?!

Sapnap probably could’ve overtaken the boy in terms of strength but he had to be cautious because the safety was already off and it was probably loaded. 

The boy’s hands were clumsy and at the entrance of two additional people he panicked and pulled the trigger. Sapnap pulled at the gun but couldn’t stop the already fired bullet’s trajectory. 

It happened all too fast and George had only glimpsed the situation before feeling a sharp pain on his right thigh.

His knees went weak and he fell on his side but didn’t hit the ground. The hooded person support him quickly and sat him down gently. His hand was already drenched after clutching the blood that was blooming over his clothes. He only winced and breathed shallowly, not making any noises. 

“Damnit!” Sapnap snatched the gun and pointed it at the boy.

“Don’t!” George gasped. Even if the boy was guilty of something, it wasn’t their job to judge and punish.

Sapnap held the angle not letting up. He looked extremely pissed.

“Don’t.” George repeated lowly. 

The boy who fired the gun seemed like he was in shock and hadn’t moved. It was a standoff.

Maybe they could hold this until reinforcements came—

“Sapnap!”

The masked figure knocked Sapnap from behind suddenly and threw the gun in George’s direction. George scrambled for it not knowing who to hold it at. 

The person wouldn’t throw it at him so carelessly if he planned to harm them would they? But he was handling Sapnap aggressively and even punched him square in the face. He seemed to have aggression towards Sapnap for some reason. 

Sapnap ended up being bound to a chair, bloodied, next to the other tied up boy who was now crying through his restraints. The boy that fired the gun dropped to his knees and then curled up into a ball in the middle of the room.

It seemed like the worst of it was over. 

The masked person approached George and he tensed up. He could see his own bloody hand tremble as he raised the gun.

The person didn’t seem to mind the barrel being pointed at his face. He only mindlessly moved it out of the way as he got closer and kneeled besides George. 

The person seemed to be inspecting his wound. George hadn’t looked at it until now. He only got a glance of the wound and long lowered eyelashes before the person held his chin up not letting him look anymore. He even blind folded George.

“I’m not afraid of blood.” George said indignantly but he didn’t remove the blindfold. He was feeling a bit dizzy and tired now. He leaned back and closed his eyes a bit.

The person didn’t reply but George felt his pants being cut and ripped. George shook when the wound was exposed to air. He felt hot hands hold his thigh a second later. 

His temperature was probably erratic because the hands were burning his skin. His heart was irregular too. He dismissed these reactions as coming from the wound.

George didn’t know what he was expecting but it wasn’t warm breaths and soft lips on his thighs. 

His legs jerked but those hands held him down. Those lips attached themselves again and sucked hard.

George made a noise of pain but bit his lips to cover them.

“Get the fuck off me now.” He gritted out, cocking the gun to the person’s lowered head blindly. His other hand reached up to undo his blindfold at the same time

George underestimated the person because in the next second, both his hands were secured in a knot. 

He started to struggle violently feeling a bit ashamed that he was not only injured but blindfolded and tied up. So much for a special agent.

The person’s breath neared his thigh again and they sucked at the bullet without warning. George even felt the scrape of their teeth on his broken skin. The sharp pain made him cry out and forget everything he was just thinking. It was as painful as when the bullet hit him. 

A spitting sound followed and a small clink could be heard. He felt his legs being tightly wrapped afterwards.

George moved his other leg and kicked up abruptly. His knee connected with something that seemed like it hurt because the person staggered back and made a muffled groan.

George didn’t know why he was mad. He just was. Sure the person helped them but it was in the most inconvenient way. It didn’t seem like they were on any side. George was starting to grow wary and squirm as far away from the person as he could when his face was softly held. 

Fingers traced his cheekbones, trailing down to his jaw and then grasped his chin, lifting his face up. Before he knew it, a wet kiss was placed on his left cheek.

George pulled away with his whole body violently and landed on the side of his injured leg awkwardly. He exhaled in pain silently. “What do you think you’re doing?” He said, reeling in his anger. 

The person pulled him upright and set him steadily against the wall and surprisingly removed his blindfold without replying.

George’s eyes were just adjusting to the light again when the gun went off and the boy hugging himself in the middle of the room fell down as blood rained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh hiya long time no see. I’ve come bearing a peace offering of double the word count :)


	8. Everything comes with a price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited

The person had been handling George gently this whole time so George had mistakenly misjudged them. 

When Sapnap was beaten and tied mercilessly George overlooked it, but now the boy was bleeding out. The shot was accurate and George could see there was little to no hope of survival. 

The masked person stood towering over. His posture relaxed, as if the monstrous actions just now weren’t related to him at all.

George looked up, his gaze was a mixture of hate and disgust. “Your actions have consequences.” George said, his eyes burning holes at the blank smile of the mask.

Without his permission, George’s eyes started watering. 

The boy was young and he seemed like he regretted his decisions and was heavily repenting. Maybe he would’ve changed for the better. Or go down a worse path. At least he could’ve made those choices. Now, he no longer could. 

George wasn’t even that hurt. Witnessing the death would last longer than the measly leg wound. 

When the masked person got near him, George stiffened and tried to evade but his face was softly held again. Although the touches were soft, it was firm. George couldn’t turn away.

“How could you treat someone’s life so carelessly? Who gave you the right?” George shook in anger and glared through his teary vision. 

The person's thumb pads softly wiped away his tears but George thrashed harshly at the thought of the same hands that pulled the trigger touching him so intimately. 

Those piercing green eyes only looked at him. No trace of remorse.

George suddenly felt chilled and shivered. 

_This person…_

The person took the initiative to hold George’s trembling balled up hand and wiped off the dried blood. George was resisting and pulling away as footsteps were heard.

“Police! We have the area surrounded. Please cooperate.” 

George stopped resisting and even held the person's hand tightly back. He wasn’t going to let him go.

The figure paused, their eyes flickered in amusement at George’s actions. They clasped George’s hands and raised them to their mask.

They lifted their mask and pulled George’s hand under.

A light warmth fluttered over his knuckles and before George could register what happened, his hand was released and the person left.

George scrambled to get up and when he couldn’t, he tried to crawl but his leg hurt so much he couldn’t move very far.

George didn’t know how he knew, but the police didn’t find the masked person as he expected. 

After, he was escorted to the hospital along with Sapnap.

George discovered a kiss print on his cheek that was made in blood. He hurriedly wiped it off but it was dry and ended up under his nails. He rubbed his face harder and picked at his nails in frustration. It was like something he could never get rid of. The traces of today. That person.

George was still hospitalized when he received the information from the case.

The serial abduction at A university was caused by a competitive art student trying to eliminate others from his opportunities by trafficking them. He personally had a grudge with another student so he went a different route than usual and that was when Sapnap stumbled across the scene of the crime. The other student was only slightly hurt and traumatized, no major injuries. They were an athlete surprisingly but also talented in arts which made them the target of envy. The trafficked students were being located but little could be done as the boy was already dead. Pronounced dead from the fatal gunshot wound upon arrival at the hospital. George mourned the lost lead and lost life.

Wilbur visited George to get his report. 

“There was a masked person in a green hoodie.” George added after finishing recounting his side of the events.

Wilbur’s pen paused. 

“After I was accidentally shot, he punched Sapnap and tied him to a chair. And then… he was the person that killed the suspect.” 

“And,” George opened his palm to reveal a bullet. “Sucked the bullet out of my leg.” 

“I didn’t understand his motive then.” George was talking aloud more to himself at this point. “But considering that everything is out now, no one else but _him_ would kill our suspects.”

The “ _him_ ” hung in the air. 

George was looking down at his propped up leg. His hand subconsciously rubbed the bandages area. The last time he encountered Dream, he at least knew the situation. He was completely useless this time while Dream had everything figured out. His hand clenched hard around his thigh. The pain brought him back. 

“We’ve never gotten a description of Dream.” Wilbur broke the silence. “Your information is highly valuable right now.”

This case wouldn’t make a splash outside the university community but it would if Dream was related. More publicity equals more resources because of public pressure and of course more eyes and information. George wasn’t expecting this small abduction case would end so soon and so tragically. It seemed like he was on an unlucky streak. Everything he’d touch so far would end like this.

George sighed and cleared his mind to recall the close encounter.

“Green eyes,” He listed, “brown eyelashes, tall,” _soft lips._ “Wearing a bright green hoodie and a black and white smiling mask.” George even drew a picture of the mask for Wilbur.

“I was wondering if you could do any DNA testing on this,” George held out his palm to reveal a bullet. “His saliva might’ve remained.” 

Wilbur looked at George weirdly. “I’m not sure, but I’ll ask.” 

It sounded like he was just trying to placate George. 

George was too tired to say anything else so he just leaned back and closed his eyes. Wilbur said a few more words and then considerately left. George was alone so he cocooned himself in the blankets and tried to escape the reality of the suffocating hospital room and the actions that led him here. Just for a moment.

The next day, Clay visited him. Wilbur mentioned another interview but Clay didn’t act like he was here as a job. He’d brought flowers, ginger tea and a homemade broth.

“What happened to you?” George frowned when he saw Clay make a face while sitting down. It was only a slight furrow of the eyebrows but George noticed. 

“Your eyes are sharp, detective.” Clay smiled.

George flushed. He didn’t want to seem like he was staring too hard but he _was_ staring. Something about Clay just always caught his eyes. Whether it was they way he held himself, the way he looked while he was concentrating, the way he smiled...

“I got kneed while playing football yesterday so it’s just a bit sore.”

_So he plays football_

When Sapnap and his friend were talking about their football days in highschool, George didn’t really care but when Clay said it… he was a little bit interested. Maybe it was just because it’s Clay.

“Shouldn’t I be asking what happened to you?” Clay teased.

George’s head lowered. He felt a bit guilty for causing Clay all that trouble and what happened after was still haunting him. 

“I won’t ask.” Clay said stuffing George’s hand with the tea. “Instead, I have a request.”

George perked up. He felt like he kind of owed Clay so this was his chance.

“Bring me along with you on your next mission.” 

“No.” George’s denied without a second of hesitation.

“Oh c’mon, hear me out,”

George was silent but the look on his face said he wasn’t going to be convinced.

“I have a lead on Eret.”

George’s face twisted. “You’re withholding information from the police.”

“And? What are you going to do about it?” Clay propped his face on his hand and stared at George with a grin.

“You could be fined. Or even sentenced to jail.” George stated seriously.

“Oh? But I don’t think you’d do that.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” George was bluffing but he was committed to acting this out.

“You need me.” 

George scoffed, “As if.” 

“That’s fine, you’ll realize it sooner or later,” Clay chuckled. “I have a second request.”

“Did you use the time in the showers to think of all the ways you’d make me pay it back?” George asked with a laugh. 

“Everything comes with a price. Sometimes it’s an upfront price with taxes, and sometimes there are hidden fees.” Clay murmured.

“What are you? A loan shark?” George asked jokingly exasperated. In truth, he didn’t mind Clay asking him for things. “Okay fine, go on.”

“In exchange for the leads I have,” Clay paused and lowered his eyelashes. “A kiss.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream is currently streaming but I’m in class *punching the air* Might not give him a kiss next chapter Bc I’m kind of annoyed 🙄


	9. Sink or Swim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited

Clay was quiet, letting George process his words, gauging his reaction.

“I don’t even know what clue you have. What if you scam me?” George’s voice was a little shrill from the panic.

Clay laughed. “Scam you? Oh c’mon now. You don’t trust me?”

George flushed. He was acting like it was his first kiss or something. He couldn’t even tell if Clay was joking or not.

“Tell me the information first.” George demanded, fighting the heat from creeping onto his face.

“No, you already owe me a favor, if I told you first, that would be two. The information is only a bonus.”

George’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“I was so cold and missed half of my classes yesterday. I even had a fever last night but I still made these for you.” Clay motioned to the things he’d brought. 

George’s frown deepened. “You insisted on standing there.” George muttered but his hand shot up without his permission and felt Clay’s forehead. “Are you still sick?” George’s body temperature was irregular so he wasn’t sure if it was too hot or too cold.

Clay didn’t answer and instead grabbed George’s wrist while shifting his forehead to lean against George’s face, connecting their foreheads.

George felt his skin burn where they touched. He didn’t know if it was from the fever or his imagination.

Clay’s bluish brown eyes stared at him, practically _drowning_ George in the heated gaze. 

George could swim. But he chose to sink. 

His hand moved to Clay’s jaw and lifted it up to attach their lips.

George didn’t think as his lips moved. It was only a light skim, a graze, before Clay prodded open his mouth and slipped his tongue inside.

George stopped breathing. Even though he stilled, he felt like his thundering heartbeat could be heard.

Clay took over the rhythm after deepening the kiss, making George dizzy and breathless. 

All too soon, Clay moved back and George found himself chasing the feverish warmth of those lips. Clay held George back by his shoulders, looking like he was barely restraining himself. 

George’s eyes were glazed over, mouth still open, a silver string connected them for a second before snapping.

Clay smiled softly and rubbed George’s lips with his thumbs. They were currently in their own little bubble where time stopped and everything else stopped mattering.

George’s mind screamed at him. This was dangerous. He was being too reckless. This shouldn’t be happening. 

He could already see himself falling in too deep. It was like the curiosity of the deep ocean lured him from the safety of the shallow waters and he swam too far to turn back.

George calculated these risks and thought of the consequences as he pulled Clay back and connected them once again.

Everything was under control. He knew what he was doing.

George deepened the kiss, blocked the annoying rational voice in his head and stopped thinking.

Clay obliged without question. Letting George take control as if he knew the mess and precarious fragile state George’s mind was in. George gladly took the lead, losing himself in the moment.

Clay was the first to pull away again. “Are you trying to get more information this way?” He asked, looking amused. 

“Can I?”

“Hmm,” Clay nuzzled close and pecked his lips lightly. “I think you’re enjoying this much more than me though?”

George flushed deeper. “No.” 

Clay didn’t expose his lie, only lightly pecking him again. “Okay.” 

Clay pushed George down without warning and George jolted.

“Relax,” Clay laughed when he saw the expectant but tense look in George’s eyes. “You’re burning up again. Rest. I’ll call in a nurse on my way out.”

George dazedly saw Clay clean up, felt a peck on his forehead, and Clay’s back as he left before a nurse entered to check on him. 

George felt a bit more clear headed with Clay gone. He groaned into a pillow as he rethought his actions just now. For the sake of information, he actually _did that._ He knew deep down it wasn’t just for the information. Clay probably knew it too. George groaned again.

At least Clay kept his end of the deal when he texted George a time and location to meet after his hospital discharge.

George decided to focus on recovering before dealing with whatever this was between him and Clay. He reminded himself of his mission. Clay might be an unnecessary distraction but George entertained the idea.

Maybe they could take a nice vacation after this was all over. Clay could show him around Florida. Or they could go back to England. George imagined his favorite places back home with Clay. It felt like Clay fit. He belonged in George’s life. 

George might be getting ahead of himself. Ahead of whatever they were right now. But these delusions lulled him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see, I missed you <3 
> 
> I’ve just been thinking thoughts... like whether I want to make George a top or a bottom,,, 
> 
> Anyway, the next arc is very plot heavy so enjoy this short fluff chapter for now because there may or may not be knives later~


End file.
